By Career Field of Interest:
These categories are very general and by no means exhaustive. Many of these professions could fit into several different categories. However, they are categorized here in a way to make it easier for you, the student, to understand the diverse options to better make your choice.
EDUCATION
Chemistry/Higher Education
Louis Madsen '94 (Chemistry); Ph.D., Chemistry – California Institute of Technology (also listed in Science & Technology)
Company/Location: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Position Title of Alumna & Description: Associate Professor - I teach physical and polymer chemistry classes and manage a research laboratory of 8 people (PhD candidates, postdoc, sometimes undergraduates). We study fundamental properties of ʺsoft materialsʺ such as polymers, liquid crystals, and ionic liquids using advanced magnetic resonance methods. We span the fields of chemistry, physics, materials science, and chemical engineering.
Length of Stay & Dates Available: 4 days, March 18-28
Housing Available? If yes, where?: Yes, alumnus' home
What will you get from this externship: What is research in materials chemistry and physical chemistry all about? How can one use magnetic resonance (like MRI) technology to learn about materials used in energy (batteries, fuel cells, etc) and sustainability (water purification) applications? What do professors and research staff at a large research/teaching institution do all day?
Elementary Education
Ruth Young '88 (Philosophy/Education); M.A., Inner City Education & M.A., English Language Learners
Company/Location: District 65 Public Schools, Evanston, IL
Position Title of Alumna & Description: Fourth Grade Teacher - I teach fourth grade to a diverse group of learners from 9:00-3:35 and then to ELL (predominantly Hispanic) children from 3:35-4:35.
Length of Stay & Dates Available: 5 days, flexible
Housing Available? If yes, where?: Yes, alumnus' home
What will you get from this externship: The student will observe the rigors, joys and challenges of teaching in a public school setting. The student will also observe the amount of planning required to make a day run smoothly outside of working hours.
Additional Information: The student will be able to get to downtown Chicago readily, as I live right by the public trains here.
Alex Johnson-Jimenez '94, (Sociology/Art)
Company/Location: Albuquerque Public Schools, East San Jose Elementary, Albuquerque, NM
Position Title of Alumna & Description: 3rd Grade Teacher - I teach 3rd grade at a bilingual (Spanish/English) public elementary school. I teach in a 50/50 classroom (50% Spanish and 50% English) and I teach all subjects. We recently adopted the Common Core State Standards.
Length of Stay & Dates Available: 5 days, after March 20th
Housing Available? If yes, where?: No, student is responsible for own housing
What will you get from this externship: The extern will observe in my classroom, run small groups, participate in lesson planning, and learn about Guided Language Acquisition Design, a teaching model to enhance language acquisition for second language learners. The extern could also observe and participate in other classes depending on his or her interests (technology classes, art, music, after-school programs, etc.).
Environmental Education & Outreach
Rochelle Gandour-Rood '02 (Chemistry); M.S., Environmental Studies – Antioch University New England (also listed in Science & Technology)
Company/Location: Trout Unlimited, Seattle, WA
Position Title of Alumna & Description: Youth Education Coordinator - My overarching goal is to help people connect to their place by learning about it. In my work at Trout Unlimited (www.tu.org), I specifically focus on connecting youth with their local watershed, often through the study of trout or salmon. I have four main tasks: [1] Coordinate our national network of partners and educators (and program resources) in the Trout in the Classroom program. (www.troutintheclassroom.org) [2] Publish our quarterly kids' magazine, Stream Explorers. (www.streamexplorers.org/magazine) [3] Assist our national TU Youth Leadership Council in pursuing the development of a TU Teens program. [4] Respond to inquiries from our volunteers across the country and help them develop their own local youth education programs.
Length of Stay & Dates Available: 4 days, Flexible
Housing Available? If yes, where?: Yes, alumnus' home
What will you get from this externship: The extern will be able to learn about how a mid-sized national environmental non-profit runs, and how an education program fits into an organization centered largely on conservation work. Depending on the extern's interests, we can explore:-some perspectives on what it means to be an environmental educator, including how we reach out to various groups and how to connect our work with formal education systems.-what it is like to work with community volunteers.-the various aspects of conservation work (communication, advocacy, science, policy, field work), and how we knit them together. My Seattle-area colleagues (representing a variety of TU's efforts) may also be available for interviews, observation, and/or small projects, depending on the extern's interests.
Additional Information: Trout Unlimited (TU) is a large organization with many campaigns and efforts, and my work as an environmental educator is varied and covers a wide range of projects. I encourage any student interested in either environmental education or watershed conservation to consider an externship with TU.
Fundraising/Higher Education
Amanda Underwood '10 (GWSS/English); M.A., Strategic Communications – University of Minnesota
Company/Location: University of Minnesota, College of Design, St.Paul, MN
Position Title of Alumnus & Description: Alumni & Development Assistant - I work in the External Relations Office of the College of Design. I focus on coordinating communications, events, and fundraising initiatives for our alumni, professional, and public audiences. My position blends execution with strategy, research, and creative thinking.
Length of Stay & Dates Available: 5 days, March 25-29
Housing Available? If yes, where?: Yes, alumnus' home
What will you get from this externship: Because I work at a small college within a large, public university, there will be both small-scale and large-scale opportunities for a student to learn about higher education administration and nonprofit constituent relations. I work closely with a team of about 10, so the student will get one-on-one time with professionals from many different career paths and specializations in public communications (PR, alumni relations, fundraising, web, graphic design, etc). An average day could include attending strategy meetings, visiting the University of Minnesota Foundation, assisting with event prep, and helping craft email communications or content for the alumni magazine. I am a young alum, so the extern will get to see what work is like at the kind of job he or she could get just a few years out of college.
Additional Information: I am an M.A. candidate in the Strategic Communications Program at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Minnesota. The extern is welcome to attend evening classes with me during his or her visit. My job might be of particular interest to English majors, Art History majors, or those considering museum studies, nonprofit management, fundraising, or marketing. We also have a dog (if anyone has allergies).
Library/Higher Education
Carol Hixon '77 (Spanish); M.S. Information Science – Drexel University
Company/Location: University of South Florida-St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, FL
Position Title of Alumnus & Description: Dean of Library - Librarianship is a great career that puts us in the center of the educational and technological revolution and that requires us to interact with a wide variety of people with creativity and innovation. We don't go around shushing people and it is NOT a great job for loners, as recently reported on by MSNBC.
Length of Stay & Dates Available: Flexible, Flexible
Housing Available? If yes, where?: Maybe, Friend of the alumnus
What will you get from this externship: By spending time in an academic library for a small but growing master's comprehensive university, the student will gain an appreciation for the changing nature of higher education, for how technology is changing everything, and for how libraries play a leadership role in serving an increasingly diverse and demanding clientele. We serve a student body of 6000 with a wide array of traditional and non-traditional library services and are in the midst of renovating 1/3 of our space to accommodate the changing needs of our students. A student observing us will see how creativity, intelligence, and research can allow for achievements far in excess of the resources allocated.
Additional Information: St. Petersburg, FL is a beautiful, medium-sized city on the Gulf Coast and March is usually perfect weather. St. Petersburg has been voted the #1 arts destination for medium-sized cities in the U.S. two years in a row. For why we love it here, check out: http://dspace.nelson.usf.edu/xmlui/handle/10806/4861In addition, USF St. Petersburg is a vibrant and growing university that provides a microcosm for what is happening at colleges and universities across the U.S. We also have some unique challenges that provide endless learning opportunities.
Shelley Aggeler Harper '87 (Sociology); M.S.W. with clinical emphasis – University of Kansas; M.S., Information Studies – University of Texas - Austin
Company/Location: Pikes Peak Community College, Colorado Springs, CO
Position Title of Alumnus & Description: Reference Librarian & Adjunct Instructor - I provide information literacy instruction to students at the reference desk in the library, in classrooms, and by consultation. I am the liaison to the Social Science departments at the college, and I purchase Social Science materials for the library. I create handouts, videos, and presentations, and I am working on a formal research/assessment project with a scholar from UNC - Chapel Hills. Finally, I am the President of the Colorado Academic Library Association, and will be coordinating 4 regional workshops in the Spring - dates undetermined as yet.
Length of Stay & Dates Available: 5 days, March 18-22
Housing Available? If yes, where?: Yes, alumnus' home
What will you get from this externship: The extern will observe the variety of tasks done by reference librarians, and he or she will see the ʺbehind the scenesʺ preparation that makes doing all of those tasks possible. Reference librarians engage with library colleagues, faculty, administrators, students, and state-wide educational leaders. The extern could take part in a research project team meeting, a Colorado Academic Library Association Board meeting, a Colorado Association of Libraries Board meeting, a regional workshop, or a state curriculum committee meeting at which I and my Library Director will defend a request for a new Information Literacy discipline and course.
Additional Information: We have two cats.
Linguistics/ESL
Debby Feir '68 (Spanish); M.A., Latin American Studies – University of Texas at Austin; M.A., Applied Linguistics – Georgia State University
Company/Location: Mercer University English Language Institute, Atlanta, Georgia
Position Title of Alumna & Description: Adjust Instructor - The Mercer ELI is an intensive academic English program for international students who want to pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees in the U.S. I teach a variety of courses at levels ranging from basic to advanced, and also some courses in a pre-MBA program for students who have completed the ELI courses and plan to pursue an MBA or other graduate degrees.
Length of Stay & Dates Available: 5 days, flexible
Housing Available? If yes, where?: Yes, alumnus' home
What will you get from this externship:. By spending time in an IAE program the student will observe the teaching techniques used in a short-term, intensive language program that includes all of the basic skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening). The classrooms we use vary from new rooms with advanced computer technology to older rooms with nothing more than basic white boards, so the teachers must adapt their teaching plans to the assigned room (we don't always have a choice, depending on the total enrollment numbers). I will make arrangements for the extern to work with various teachers in order to observe as many student skill levels and types of courses as possible.
Additional Information: I have Labrador retriever who sheds non-stop so anyone with allergies to dogs would have problems in my house. He's a certified therapy dog who adores everyone he's ever met, so there will be no issues with growling, biting, or snapping. No smoking - I'm a fanatic!
Secondary Education
Ali Borger-Germann '99 (English); M.A. Creative Writing – Regis University
Company/Location: Iowa City Schools, Iowa City, IA
Position Title of Alumna & Description: English Teacher - I teach high school English (English 9, English 10H, Creative Writing, and Bible as Literature).
Length of Stay & Dates Available: 3-5 days, after March 25-29
Housing Available? If yes, where?: No, student is responsible for own housing
What will you get from this externship: The student will learn a lot about the ins and outs of teaching in a large, essentially suburban high school.
Additional Information: If possible, the student should bring a car.
Ole Rapson '01 (Math); M.A., Education & M.A. Mathematics – University of Minnesota
Company/Location: Columbia Heights High School, Minneapolis, MN
Position Title of Alumnus & Description: Math Teacher and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Coordinator - I teach math (algebra & trigonometry) & AVID in an urban high school.
Length of Stay & Dates Available: 4 days, sometime over March 16-22
Housing Available? If yes, where?: Yes, alumnus' home
What will you get from this externship: Our school is very diverse: 40% African-American, 30% Hispanic, and over 30 countries represented within the immigrant population. We also have a high amount of students (70%) on free and reduced lunch. Our school has many master teachers, who I am so proud to work with. The extern will meet with so many of them as well as observe my math classroom and the AVID program, which supports students with barriers who are heading to college.
